Challenge KSC to Wideawake - "The Classic" Speed Run

Launch profile improvement

This is partial (no way I'm good enough at hot landings yet) but I'm happy with this launch profile and want to share. It reaches 10km/s 7 seconds earlier, at 5:47, and 18km downrange.

edit: this has some differences from agentgonzo's setup, but I just took this profile with his setup cut'n'pasted (and a little more practice) and got the same 10km/s time but 17km still farther downrange. No more narrating 'til I can land this, promise :-)
 

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vsfx said:
I didn't know that the XR2 had the ability to use seawater as a propellant... :bailout:
Click to expand...
Hidden feature ! :lol:

Seeing the video again, I think this is the last crossfeed that lost me totally. Plus the right wing damage (why?) participated in the wrongness of this try.

Anyway, I'm full of new ideas to experiment, let's crash some other XR2 ...:owned:
 
I've been working on this run for almost two weeks now. My first dozen flights ending in a variety of hull breaches before I even got to the roll to inverted flight. Then I had a whale of a time staying in control of the roll and vertical speed.

I've a long way to go with this one but in any event, I just had my best flight ever, Wheel stop at 32:39

Orbiter flight recording http://tinfoilchef.com/orbiter/KSC-WIN 32-39.7z (need 7zip to open)

Video of the flight should be on Youtube by Friday Aug 23 (unless I do a better one by then!!)
 
I had another go at this last night. For now, I'm sticking with the "original" classic. (MECO around 11.5k-12k and using main engines for braking. As opposed to the faster method dgatsoulis is using.)

My first attempt went really well. I was making good time (as you can see in the screenshot below) but I blew it in the last few seconds by opening the retro doors too soon. I thought 200 m/s would be slow enough, but it's not. Hull breach.

http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums...KSC to WIN/8-18-20133-19-25PM_zps84fa1831.png

My second attempt went just as well as the first, and ended with an equally stupid outcome. In my rush to get the XR2 down onto the runway, I wasn't paying attention to my airspeed. So when it came time to raise the nose and reduce v/s, I instead cratered the XR2 into the end of the runway.

http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums...KSC to WIN/8-18-20133-22-02PM_zps4a7f5b95.png

Otherwise either one of these should have been a new best time for me. Not by much. I'm still a full minute+ from wheel stop, but I think I would have shaved another 10-15 seconds off my time.
 
My latest run. Almost a perfect flight, timed at 17 mins 15 seconds.
I thought I was actually under 17 mins when I stopped. Looking at the upper panel was a disappointment. MECO at 14703 m/s


Playback attached.
 

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tinfoilchef said:
I've a long way to go with this one but in any event, I just had my best flight ever, Wheel stop at 32:39
Click to expand...

Good job TFC :thumbup: Added to the scoreboard.

Having kill rotation on for most of the flight seemed to give you better control than in your earlier attempts.

blixel said:
My first attempt went really well. I was making good time (as you can see in the screenshot below) but I blew it in the last few seconds by opening the retro doors too soon. I thought 200 m/s would be slow enough, but it's not. Hull breach.
Click to expand...

Any clue on the max. DNP for opening the retro doors, I can't find it in the XR manual? I suppose they are designed to be used in a vacuum not at landing, especially when landing speeds are in excess of 400 mph.
 
vsfx said:
Any clue on the max. DNP for opening the retro doors, I can't find it in the XR manual? I suppose they are designed to be used in a vacuum not at landing, especially when landing speeds are in excess of 400 mph.
Click to expand...

41 kPa. Slightly higher than the gear which fail at 39 kPa. Same value for all the XR spacecrafts.
 
dgatsoulis said:
My latest run. Almost a perfect flight, timed at 17 mins 15 seconds.
Click to expand...

:thumbup: Time updated.

I posted previously that agentgonzo would not need to re-install Orbiter as his record was untouchable, I really think I'm going to be proved wrong :).
 
I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm thoroughly enjoying this challenge. So far, I've launched two pilots into heliocentric orbits where they died of hypoxia spinning out of control in the cold loneliness of interplanetary space, burned up many pilots attempting re-entry at speeds in excess of Mach 30, done many spiral shaped, high-velocity, nose down water landings, etc. But, I'm slowly refining down, watching y'all's videos and figuring it out. I'll be wheels down eventually.
 
Lesson learned on this flight. Make sure "Disable Vertical Sync" is not checked.

Such a great flight... ruined by not having any brakes at the end. Wheel stop would have been well under 20 minutes if I had brakes.
 

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So close to coming in under 20 minutes. Wheel stop was just 4 seconds more than AgentGonzo's time. (Referring to his original speed run where he used the main engine for braking.)

Wheel stop at 20:02, MECO at 12019 m/s.


I'd really like to get my time under 20 minutes, so I may try this a few more times, but otherwise, I'm about ready to move on to the other variation of this flight that doesn't use the main engine for braking.
 

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I had some autopilot troubles during a flight (it was actually human error, but who's counting?). anyway, there are some pretty cool images that came out of it, so I uploaded them to an album here:
http://www.orbiter-forum.com/album.php?albumid=941
I'll keep trying on the mission (btw, I have the log files from the autopilot that show altitude, airspeed, hull temps, etc. if anybody cares to see them.)
 
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gonzo's landing was so cool I had to at least try it. I've been at it for hours now. That workload. My checklist got longer, a dose of "again?", a quick review to put it away and I thought about what's left, mentally making room, then just looked at it. I got a little flash of that flip and snorted and the moment was over.

But it took me a couple seconds to remember what I had been doing and I realized I had been lost in admiration.
 
I've finally been able to have another try at this. Here is the far from amazing run where I achieved my first successful speed run :). Had some confusion on the approach to WIN, which cost me some time I'm sure.


Flight time: 23:51 (was 23:40 as flown live) and MECO was 11,812 m/s.
 
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